


Troubles Come in Threes

by Engiffyserce



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Cancer, Illness, Joelay-Freeform, M/M, OC, Old work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-28
Updated: 2014-05-28
Packaged: 2018-01-26 20:51:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1702130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Engiffyserce/pseuds/Engiffyserce
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: 'Joelay where one of them hurts themselves enough to go to the hospital [maybe a concussion] and while they're there, they find out they have cancer'</p>
<p>“The doctor will be in soon,” She responded hastily and monotonously, walking out just as ghost-like as she came in. Joel chewed on his bottom lip nervously, running his hand through the younger man’s hair. Ray whimpered in response, shifting to press himself closer to the warm Joel. The actor sat in a queasy silence while he waited for the news.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Troubles Come in Threes

          It wasn’t the greatest night for Ray and Joel.

 

          Ray lay in a hospital bed, I.V.’s attached to his hands, body covered by a gown under a drugged state and head, various places on his arms and legs legs, and torso wrapped in a soft gauze. His right shoulder was held in place by a mesh covering and arm sat in a sling as well as a few of his fingers were taped and splinted. Joel lay next to him, dressed in a large hoodie and jeans, perfectly fine, besides the bags under his eyes from exhaustion and worry.

_One…_

Not twelve hours ago, Ray had been in a bad hit-and-run accident. He had been taking an early morning walk after a bad length of illness when a late night drunkard swerved onto the sidewalk and into Ray, slamming the gamer into a nearby wall. Within minutes the police had been called. Joel had been there quickly. By the time they had loaded Ray up into the ambulance, he was asking the police where they were taking him and directions to that hospital.

 

_Two…_

 

Now, after a few MRI’s, X-ray sessions, and blood tests, they were waiting for results. The younger man was both emotionally and physically drained and the painkillers pumped into his veins didn’t help the situation. Joel had decided to lay at Ray’s side, petting his head softly and mumbling comforting things.

 

          What they knew at that point was Ray had a broken collarbone, a couple broken fingers, and an avulsion fracture had formed in his pelvic bone. The impact had also given him lacerations and a moderate concussion. He wouldn’t be going to work for a while.

 

“Mr. Heyman?” A female voice called, door opening ever so slightly. Her head peaked in, silhouetted by the bright lights outside shining into the dim room.

 

          She was a pretty face. Dark skin, bright eyes, hair pulled back. She cared a lot for Ray from a medical standpoint. She always felt bad for the younger ones who came in, especially when they were in such poor shape.

 

“Yes?” The actor called softly, not wanting to wake up the injured Ray tucked against his chest. The Ms. Raddell moved in, a sullen look on her face. She held a clipboard full of papers. Joel became uneasy, shifting slightly. “What’s wrong?”

 

“Mr. Heyman, I just want you to know before anything else, what you’re going to hear is not the most pleasant,” She admitted quietly, standing awkwardly. “The doctor will be with you shortly, but I wanted to warn you ahead of time.” Her voice trailed off at the end, glancing away. She silently walked over to Ray’s I.V’s and injected another round of mild sedatives.

 

“Wait, what do you mean?” He asked, watching her carefully. She winced as if she was guilty of something. Joel opened his mouth to speak again, but was cut off quickly.

 

“The doctor will be in soon,” She responded hastily and monotonously, walking out just as ghost-like as she came in. Joel chewed on his bottom lip nervously, running his hand through the younger man’s hair. Ray whimpered in response, shifting to press himself closer to the warm Joel. The actor sat in a queasy silence while he waited for the news.

 

After a god awful amount of time, the doctor walked in with the same dull expression.

 

          Dr. Sealten was his name. He always held a small smile and tried to explain things in the best possible way. Older man, white hair, olive skinned. Nothing too out of the ordinary. Now, he held the same clipboard Ms. Raddell had, red marks dashed across the printed pages.

 

“Hello, Mr. Heyman,” He greeted, shutting the door. He grabbed the swivel stool sitting idly at a computer desk, pulling it closer to the bed. He sat down, thumbing through the pages. He was hesitant to start, but his gaze was centered on the middle-aged man. “What I’m going to tell you isn’t—great news. Actually, by any means, this whole thing is horrible. However, I am here to say, the accident might be a blessing in disguise,” He started, scratching his hairless chin. Joel was confused, but stayed quiet nonetheless.

 

_Three…_

 

“Mr. Narvaez, unfortunately, has stage two Clear Renal cell Carcinoma or a cancer of the kidneys. We believe it’s only in the right kidney, but we need to do a few more tests to be sure. Since we caught it fairly early before it spread to other tissues in the body we will be able to eradicate the cells quickly. Because the cancer is massed in a tumor, getting rid of the source isn’t difficult.” Joel was speechless, feeling his chest tighten with every word.

 

          Ray and cancer didn’t go together. Not the buoyant young man laying next to him. Not the master of all achievements and King of Roses. Not the former New Yorker who hadn’t ever step foot into Central Park. Ray who battled cancer wasn’t supposed to be on that list. Joel swallowed thickly, jaw locking up in anxiety.

 

“What treatments do you suggest?” Joel finally managed. The doctor blinked, mulling over the question as if he hadn’t figured it out already.

 

“Well, as your friend here is an uncommon case, we can go many ways. Because most patients with Renal Cell cancer are older and therefore more frail, it can narrow our options down drastically. But with Mr. Narvaez, we’re open to many treatments. I suggest we perform a  partial nephrectomy, or the removal of the infected tissue of the kidney, to remove the cancerous mass or masses and then have fifteen to thirty short rounds of Chemotherapy to ensure they don’t grow back.” Joel nodded, glancing at the young man at his side.

 

“What’s his chance of survival?”

 

“Seventy-four percent is national average for stage two. It’s possible and most likely probable that his chances will be higher due to his young age.” Joel gave a relieved sigh. At least it was looking alright for Ray. “Mr. Heyman, before we go any farther, I have to ask about some of Mr. Narvaez recent habits. Did he smoke or drink?”

 

“No. Never,” The older man answered right away. The doctor nodded and scribbled something on one of the papers on the clipboard.

 

“Did you ever notice him urinate blood or complain about lower back pain?” Joel thought back,  trying to remember anything out of the normal.

 

“No, not that I remember.”

 

“Did he start bruising more easily than usual? Maybe during practice of a sport or something work related at any time?”

“No, not at all.”

 

“Any abnormal lumps on his lower back or side?”

 

“Not that I know of.” These questions were becoming quite tedious for Joel. He thought they were useless until Dr. Sealton asked one last question.

 

“What about fatigue, fever, or weight loss?”

 

“Uh—Yeah, yeah! He was sleeping a lot more. He also had a nasty fever for a while until it broke a few days before the accident. I guess he stopped eating, but I blamed that on the fever too. Man, he was in this much trouble and I didn’t know.”

 

“It’s not your fault, Mr. Heyman. It’s quite normal not to know.” Joel shook his head, looking away. Mr. Sealten was sympathetic, writing something down. “If you’d like to wake him up and tell him, it might be for the best,” He offered, standing up quietly. He excused himself out, opening and closing the door softly. Joel closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths.

 

          He didn’t want to do this. He wanted this to be a bad dream. He wanted to wake up to Ray’s sleepy face in the early morning sun, worry free. He wanted to laugh and play videos games from nine to five every weekday. He wanted to cuddle Ray during a late night movie and complain about how kids these days had it so good. He wanted to forget about problems like car accidents and cancer. He wanted to forget.

 

          He opened his eyes, trying to blink away forming tears. After a few minutes of wishing and wanting, he started shaking Ray awake.

 

“Hey, Ray,” He said, rubbing the younger mans shoulder. He received a slurred moan, the man snuggling closer into the actor’s shirt. The elder rolled his eyes, but smiled. Although, it was quickly dropped when he remember why he was trying to get the kid’s attention. With the same, soft voice he tried again. “Ray, we need to talk.”

 

“Can it wait? My head hurts and I’m tired,” Ray whined pathetically. Joel winced, fingers enlacing themselves in the Puerto Rican’s short hair, rubbing gently. He felt bad for his lover. He was really sick and really tired and all he wanted to do was sleep.

 

“No, I don’t think it can. We really need to talk,” Joel answered weakly, frowning. Tears stung at the corner of his eyes again, feeling a knot form in his throat.

 

“Fine,” The younger man huffed, pulling away. He looked up, eyes glazed over from the drugs. “What is it?”

 

“You’ve—ah—you’ve been put in a bad place.”

 

“What? What are you talking about? Speak english, Joel.” At this point, the older man was crying, tears streaming down his paling face. Joel reached out to cradle the other’s face with the palm of his hand. Ray started to panic. “Joel, what did the doctor say?”

 

          “Your tests came back positive with something—Something pretty bad.”


End file.
